


Scaring is Caring

by distantdreaming



Series: All Hallows Eve - October Prompt Extravaganza [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Costume Parties & Masquerades, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Idiots in Love, M/M, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-02
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-24 11:48:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4918378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/distantdreaming/pseuds/distantdreaming
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anonymous said:<br/>Heyyyyy! Could you do solangelo where Will scares Nico? Pretty please:)<br/>-<br/>Will is not scary. Will is, like, the farthest thing from scary. On top of that, Nico's not really scared of anything, and there's even a competition going on to see who can frighten him, because everyone's sort of half-convinced he's just not human, no one is totally fearless.<br/>When the prize for the competition is actually something worth getting, though, Will decides he's gonna show everyone what they've been doing wrong, and he's gonna win.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Scaring is Caring

**Author's Note:**

> The summary totally makes this seem like it's from Will's pov, doesn't it? Alas, it is our Italian nerd that narrates this adventure. I'm hosting a month-long prompt fill thing on my [tumblr](distantdreamingg.tumblr.com) and you should totally hmu for more, and I'm not just talking Solangelo. 
> 
> Unbeta'd, by the way, but read over for mistakes and spelling errors.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy!

Will has always been a rather stereotypical All American Boy, in terms of his looks, his southern charm, and his loud and warm laughter. He’s 100% Grade-A YA novel protag love interest material, which is funny, because Nico is about as far from your typical protagonist as he can get.

Sure, okay, he’s got another sort of cliché going on, but that’s totally beside the point. He _likes_ black, and he’s not gonna stop wearing it any time soon. The skull ring on his finger was a gift from his dad, and he’s got a bit of a fascination with death and the macabre, but...he’s not a gothic or emo kid. He just...happens to share some aesthetic choices, is all.

This is why, on Halloween, Nico does _not_ dress as a vampire, or a warlock or any other basic-ass costume. Instead, he chooses to go for a Venetian masquerade deal, complete with a suit and ornate animal mask. It works amazing well on him, even he has to admit. His black hair is long enough to curl around the edges of the mask, and the olive tone of his skin makes the white and black of the suit pop. He actually looks _good_.

He has no idea what Will is going as, as they’d agreed not to match, simply to throw off and maybe piss off their mutual group of friends, all of whom seem convinced that he and Will are secretly dating. They’re not, but...they’re something, really. They haven’t talked about it, or put any labels on it, but Nico knows they both definitely feel something, so it’s not uncomfortable. It’s more like the feeling of standing on the edge of a cliff; you know something could happen, and you’d get a rush from it, and all it would take is a step, but you’re also scared, so you don’t move.

They’re both pathetic chickens, basically.

Nico’s slightly early to the party Percy’s throwing, but that’s okay, it means he can rib Will for being inevitably late as always with even more backing than usual. As he waits, the compliments flood in from all angles, and Nico knows he made the right costume decision. The mask is vintage, real, and absolutely incredible, and it _makes_ the whole thing. He’s never been more confident at a social gathering, and the feeling is kind of nice.

It’s when he’s crossing the room that he feels a finger drag up his spine, making him shiver. When he turns, though, no one is paying him any attention. He frowns, confused, deciding he must be imagining it and continuing on.

Then it happens again.

He turns faster this time, but it’s still just a crowd of dancers in a dark room, Halloween-themed party music playing and a blacklight making everyone glow a little. It’s unsettling, and he frowns deeper, walking faster when he turns back again.

He has the eerie feeling of being watched when he’s getting punch, the smoke from the bowl pouring over the table. He studies the room as he takes a small sip from the skill-painted cup, but no one seems to be looking in his direction. The feeling doesn’t go away, though, and he shifts uncomfortably.

He’s not one to scare easy, and this is a tested fact. Every Halloween, someone in their friend group is assigned to his ‘case,’ as it’s put, and their end goal is to scare him. It never works, and he ends up either rolling his eyes or outright laughing at every attempt. The prize ups every year, and right now it’s a weekend at Jason’s family’s lake house and the admiration of everyone in the group.

There’s no way this is one of his dork friends, though. They’ve tried horror movie gags, classic gags, fake blood, chasing him (he stood still and shoved Percy straight into the gross lake waters). Nothing like this would have occurred to them, which is good, because it’s right about the only thing that would scare him. No one would know that, though.

...Right?

When an arm slips around his waist without warning, someone’s body pressing to his back, he jumps, gasping, feeling his heart lodge in his throat, the punch very nearly splashing all over his glorious costume. He’s about to slam his elbow backwards into whoever this is when a familiar laugh sounds behind his ear.

He stiffens, and the arm around him shifts a little more comfortably, and he really should have recognized it because Will’s held him countless times during all sorts of circumstances. He does elbow Will, but not nearly as hard as instinct would have had him react. Instead, it’s sort of an irritable nudge.

Will laughs again, and Nico turns to face him, completely ignoring the cheers he can hear across the room because of _course_ Will would plan it and be the one to win, of course.

The boy is dressed head to toe in black, and even his head is covered. Annoyed, Nico pulls off the mask of the morphsuit, revealing warm blue eyes, blonde waves, and a wide smile. He whacks Will’s arm, but stays in the warmth. “You’re a dick.”

Will’s other arm wraps around him. “Actually, I decided to dress as a shadow. Clever, isn’t it?”

He’s got black clothes over the morphsuit, Nico realizes. It _is_ clever, which makes Nico slightly more annoyed. He pulls off his mask, letting the cool air fade the heat from his cheeks faster. “So you’re a shadowy dick, then. How did you know?”

“I know you, di Angelo.” Will answers simply. “Nice costume, by the way. I can express appreciation for the work others put in for tonight.”

Nico whacks his arm again. “Shut up! You scared me!”

“I know~!” Will’s tone is _delighted,_ musical in his glee. “Isn’t it great? We get a weekend at a lake house out of it!”

Nico rolled his eyes, but the thought of a weekend alone with Will on a lake is pretty appealing. “You’re lucky the prize is sharable, Solace.”

Will snorted. “No, I’m not. Who do you think suggested the prize to Jason?”

Nico stared at him and his smirk, and he’s annoyed all over again, but he’s also...kind of pleased and proud. “That’s devious as fuck.”

“I know. I knew I’d be the only one that would know how to scare you, so obviously I made sure it would actually be worthwhile to do it.” Will pecked his cheek. “Dance with me and celebrate how awesome I am?”

Nico rolls his eyes again, but he takes the offered hand and lets Will pull him into the crowd again, dumping the punch as they pass a trashcan at the end of the table. “I’m only dancing with you because you got me a free vacation, you being awesome or not is a debate for another day.”

Will laughed again, spinning Nico until he’s smiling, and  when they pass by their friends, both he and Will have victorius grins.

By the look that Jason (dressed as Thor, of course) gets on his face as then spin past, he has realized he’s been played, and then both Nico and Will are laughing. Altogether, Will had actually pulled off a pretty cool plan, and Nico has to give him props. Because, honestly? A lake house weekend? It’s exciting as hell.


End file.
